Kicking Horse Coffee, a North American coffee brand with a cheeky origin story, has named Lifelong Crush its first ever AOR as it looks to build its brand identity.
Selected after a competitive pitch process including five agencies, Lifelong Crush will develop a shared brand platform for Kicking Horse across Canada and the United States. The first creative work is expected in the fall.
Selected after a competitive pitch process including five agencies, Lifelong Crush will develop a shared brand platform for Kicking Horse across Canada and the United States. The first creative work is expected in the fall.
Launched in Invermere, British Columbia, in 1996, the story goes that a Rocky Mountain explorer got kicked in the head by a horse and was presumed dead by his fellow travellers, only to then be woken up by a “kick-ass” cup of coffee.
“Lifelong Crush really understood the essence of our brand and history and that showed up in a strong creative strategy and truly nailing the tone of voice,” said Kicking Horse’s chief marketing officer, Lori Hatcher, in a release.
“We recognize the importance of partnering with an agency that can effectively connect Kicking Horse Coffee with consumers and culture, transcending mere product promotion,” she added in an email to The Message. The brand has previously focussed on product-centric advertising and wants to evolve to brand marketing, she said.
“As our creative agency, Lifelong will work with us on developing our brand strategy, which may include evolving our visual identity, as well as advertising and communications... That said, we absolutely love our brand design and don’t expect that to change!”
The release notes that the brand wants to create culturally relevant and "rebellious" moments to garner more attention, in keeping with its well-established tone of voice.
“We’re an agency full of unconstrained thinkers that seek to break with convention, so to be able to collaborate with a similar team at Kicking Horse to shake up a sleepy coffee industry, ‘buck’ the trends and ignite what already exists in the Kicking Horse Coffee DNA really excites us,” said Lifelong Crush partner and chief creative officer Christina Yu in the release. “Together we are going to break some rules to leave a lasting impression.”
